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Josh Sharkey commits to Samford

07/19/2015, 10:15pm EDT

By Garrett Miley

Garrett Miley (@GWMiley)
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Entering the summer, point guard Josh Sharkey held just a single offer that came back in December.

Many players entering their senior season of high school basketball would have held out for more offers and extended the recruiting process.

“That definitely came into my mind,” he said. “I was thinking of holding off for a little bit until I got back from Vegas (next week) to see if I got any offers.”

But ultimately for Sharkey, the time was right to commit to the school that first and only school to offer: Samford.

While the Birmingham, Alabama school was the only one who offered Sharkey, he had recently begun to draw interest from East Carolina, Wofford, Quinnipiac, and Fairleigh Dickinson after his performance this summer.

But Samford had stayed on constant contact with Sharkey after they offered the nimble, crafty point guard over the winter, calling him weekly to check in on his game and schooling.

“I actually think that if any other school offered me I still would have decided on Samford University,” Sharkey said, “because they treat me like I’m a part of the family already. We built a really nice relationship and I love everything about them...this is a great program, an up-and-coming program.”

Committing now made sense for Sharkey, a member of Nike-backed Team Final on the AAU circuit, who already feels right at home in the Sanford basketball program.

“I just felt like it was the right time,” he said. “After talking it over with my family, I felt like Samford was the best situation for me. From a basketball aspect, it fits my game perfectly. They like to pressure full-court, run, and I really like what coach (Scott) Padgett is doing. He has a big vision and I think I can go and have a big impact and help Sanford a lot.”

The Bulldogs finished 13-19 a season going, going 6-12 in the Big Sky under head coach Scott Padgett.

Sharkey turned a few heads this summer on the AAU circuit playing for Team Final, and especially shined at Peach Jam earlier this month.

This summer, the point guard has averaged 7.1 points per game and has shot 44 percent from the floor in 20 appearances.

Succeeding against other top talent this summer while playing for Team Final has Sharkey’s confidence in his game at an all-time high.

“I think that I can play with the best in the country,” Sharkey said. “After that CP3 game, that really boosted my confidence. Alterique Gilbert, he’s going to UConn, I think he’s one of the best point guards in the country and I think I held my own against him. After that game, my confidence really went to another level and I started playing at a higher level. I definitely have more things to work on, but I can play with the best of them.”

If you’ve ever seen Sharkey play, you know that he’s got a game much bigger than his stature. At 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds, Sharkey’s slick handles dazzle defenders and he’s an excellent two-way player with plus on-ball defending skills.

In the Big South, Sharkey will join former Neumann-Goretti guard Troy Harper, a friend of Sharkey, who plays for Campbell. Harper finished his freshman season averaging 6.7 ppg in just over 17 minutes per game.

“I haven’t had the chance to talk to him after the season [ended] but that’s something I’m definitely interested in doing,” he said. “Seeing how he changed his game for the college level and seeing how the conference is.”

After spending the past two seasons playing for Archbishop Carroll alongside Division I talents like Ernest Aflakpui (Temple) and Derrick Jones (UNLV), Sharkey still has one more commitment left to make.

The guard has ruled out a return to Carroll in the fall, but did not want to say where his potential landing spots were for his senior year.

“That’s the next step,” Sharkey said. “Now that I’ve got college out of the way, I’ve got to figure out where I’ll be going for the fall season.”